Trump and Xi’s dinner date with top AI leaders: Why Anthropic CEO wasn’t at the table
firstpost.com Sep 25, 2026

Trump and Xi’s dinner date with top AI leaders: Why Anthropic CEO wasn’t at the table

AI-summarised brief · reviewed before publication

On September 24, President Donald Trump hosted a state dinner for Chinese President Xi Jinping that gathered senior executives from leading U.S. tech firms, including OpenAI, Meta, Apple, X, Amazon, Google, Nvidia and others. Anthropic’s chief executive, Dario Amodei, was notably absent. In a recent essay, Amodei warned that a Chinese lead in the artificial‑intelligence race would constitute a “grave danger” to the United States and the world. Anthropic has deep ties to U.S. national‑security agencies, with its Claude model deployed across classified networks and a pending $200 million Department of Defense contract to prototype advanced AI for defense. However, the company has clashed with the Trump administration over restrictions on Claude’s use in autonomous weapons and surveillance, culminating in a court dispute after the administration labeled Anthropic a “supply‑chain risk.” The company also restricts sales to China‑controlled firms, citing concerns about military and intelligence misuse.

💡 Why It Matters

  • · Amodei’s absence underscores the growing friction between U.S.
  • · AI innovators and policymakers over security, export controls, and the geopolitical stakes of the AI race.